Peachamory
by K5Rakitan
Summary: Alternate ending/rewrite of the very last Peach Girl episode. Who does she get? Both of them! Of course, breaking the rules comes with a price. Polyamory. Polyandry. Thanks to Sadistichiver for the cover art.
1. Splash!

**Peachamory**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Peach Girl and I am not making any money from this. It is just for fun!

**Author's Note:** I've wanted to rewrite the ending of Peach Girl ever since I first saw it about two or three years ago. It took longer than I hoped it would take, but it is finally here! I used some dialog directly from the episode to get it started, but then they run into a couple who changes everything. They are both OCs from my other stories, so if you want to get to know them better you can check out my Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction.

Also, I am basing this on the anime and not the manga just in case there are any major differences between the two. I have never read the manga, so I don't know.

**Music Lover's Alert:** If you like to listen to music while you read, I recommend "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor.

**Warnings: **Suggestive themes, mild language.

**Chapter 1 Splash!**

Momo sighed with a heavy heart as Toji and she traversed the river. Had she really made the right choice? Toji was the man she wanted all her life, so dignified and smart. However, there was a spark of excitement she missed about being with Kairi. That just wasn't enough, though. Toji grounded her and made her feel whole… almost. If she had never met Kairi she would not know that anything was missing from her life, but now she just could not get him off her mind.

She and Toji had been discussing their relationship endlessly since they boarded the small wooden craft. The other passengers seemed content to sit in romantic silence, but Momo felt too unsettled to enjoy the ride. She kept her voice soft for the benefit of the other passengers, but inside she wanted to scream. _Why does it have to be this way?_

Toji was speaking now. His deep chocolate eyes absorbed her sentiments and radiated them back to her in a clearer, but still not complete picture. "Are you thinking that if you hurt Kairi's feeling then… karma will eventually catch up to you?"

"Maybe." _It's the same with you. If I hurt your feelings I'm doomed as well. However, I have no intention of breaking your heart. I've already done enough damage breaking his. _"I just can't stand the idea that I'm so happy and he's not."

"You think he'd be happy seeing you down on yourself when you could be having a good time? I'll admit I was shocked when you started dating Kairi. I guess I just didn't see it coming. The only thing that would have made me even more unhappy is if you'd been alone, so I was glad you had someone even if it was Kairi."

Momo's hazel eyes widened. "Huh?" A thousand questions flashed through her mind. _Does that mean he loves me less or more? If he loves me so much he would be willing to let me go - he already let me go once and took me back - would he do it again if - no, Kairi won't take me back now - or would he? I'm the flaky one, really. What if I couldn't commit to Kairi? What if I still can't commit to Toji?_

Toji continued talking while Momo listened closely, hoping to find answers to her questions. "And I think Kairi would feel the same way. I also think you're afraid of hurting people like Sae's done so many times. That just shows-"

"Come on, kid! You can do better," a woman's voice called from the river bend.

Toji and Momo turned their heads to see two kayaks moving at high speed towards them, apparently racing. Momo watched in petrified horror as one smacked into their boat head-on and the other grazed it. The first kayak flipped over instantly, and their boat tipped in slow motion until the flailing hands of the kayak's passenger found the edge of their precarious vessel and pulled it the rest of the way over. All the passengers plus the three men who were paddling the boat were dumped into the water.

Momo felt the frigid water envelop her, but knew better than to panic. In fact, she knew that she was probably better equipped to handle this situation than any of the other passengers. She grabbed hold of a body and swam with it to the surface. It was male, hopefully Toji's.

Their heads broke the surface and they gasped for air. Her companion seemed to be breathing fine and taking some initiative to swim on his own, but still relying on her for support.

Momo looked up to see a lean, muscular middle-aged woman laughing down at them. Her ebony kayak was still afloat and her long braid of graying blond hair was still dry. Her fiery amber eyes slid over Momo. "Nice catch, or did she catch you?"

Momo quickly realized that she had not fished Toji out of the water, but the red-headed occupant of the first kayak. She looked around frantically until she saw that Toji was safe in the arms of one of their river tour guides.

The red-headed man grinned. He had dark chocolate eyes very similar to Toji's and could not be older than twenty. "I don't know," he told the older woman, "but I like her. Let's keep her."

By this time, Toji had spotted the ruggedly handsome young man with Momo. "Hey! That's my girlfriend!" Although he was several meters away, he reached his arms toward her and tried to escape the grip of his rescuer, but the burly man held him firmly.

The blonde rolled her eyes and tossed a rope to a flailing passenger who still needed help. "Relax. My boy Patrick's got her."

Toji spoke through gritted, slightly chattering teeth as he bobbed in the water with the guide. "Listen, lady. Momo's a certified lifeguard. She doesn't need your son groping her."

"Boyfriend," the woman clarified as she reeled in a passenger who had trouble swimming, "and you don't have to worry about him He doesn't put his hands where they aren't welcome."

"And since she was the one who grabbed me first - ouch!" Patrick yelled as Momo slapped his face. He let go of her instantly.

"I don't even know you!" She swam against the current to reach Toji. "I just saved you because I thought you were going to drown and nothing more."

"Rejected! Better luck next time, darling." The mature blonde pointed to a thin green vessel that had lodged itself between some nearby reeds. "In the meantime, grab your kayak before you lose it, too."

Patrick grunted and let the river carry him downstream until he reached his boat. With grace and strength, he hauled it out of the water and started draining it. Momo watched him for a few seconds and deduced that he had been faking his need to be rescued, and perhaps even attempting to rescue her before she got to him first.

The dry woman towed the passenger she had rescued to shore and the others followed. "I'm sorry about that," she said to Momo, "My boyfriend can be a little… playful at times. I think he may have been distracted by you and accidentally-on-purpose capsized you."

Toji climbed onto dry land and started wringing water out of his clothes. "How do you tolerate that? If he's really your boyfriend, why did you let him hit on my girlfriend?"

"_Tolerate_? I don't tolerate it, I adore it! Patrick has one of the biggest hearts of all the men I know. I don't _want_ to place an arbitrary limit on the number of people he can love."

Momo gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Now that she was standing on dry land again, she was not sure whether she was trembling from her cold wet clothes or from the implications of this novel concept.

"Momo, what's wrong?" Toji asked.

"Us. All of us, I think," she whispered. Momo looked at the woman and spoke louder, but still timidly. "Does he feel the same way about you?"

The woman chucked. "Always has and always will."

"And he's not afraid you'll leave him for someone else?"

"Dear, I _am_ with someone else. I have been ever since before I met him. It's not a question of leaving anybody."

Momo's jaw dropped. _Maybe I didn't have to choose. Why didn't I stand my ground?_

Toji butted in. "OK. Fess up. Is this some sort of hidden camera trick? Who are you?"

The woman tossed her head, and her long silvery golden braid swung to her other shoulder. "You kids don't know your history."

Momo and Toji stared at her hard. There was something familiar about her fiery amber eyes and striking black-clad figure. The woman started humming and old tune from the revolution twenty years ago.

Toji snapped his fingers. "You were a Noelite!"

"Yes. And…?"

They stared at her blankly.

"Kids these days! I swear!"

Patrick paddled his green boat up beside her black one. "Yo Tam! Rested your old bones enough yet?"

Realization struck Momo like a lighting bolt. _That's Tamara Rakitan, the first Prime Minister's bodyguard. I guess even heroes need to get out and have fun every once in a while, but who knew she'd turn into such a couger? Then again, I've been called worse. Actually, I wish I could be like her. She's so confident and sure of herself, and she seems happy with how her life turned out._

Tamara and her youthful boyfriend exchanged playful banter while Momo and Toji gaped at them.

"Really now? I thought the real reason you capsized was to get a closer look at this here tanned beauty," Tam teased.

"That too," Patrick admitted.

Toji growled.

Momo put her hand on Toji's forearm and addressed Patrick. "I appreciate the sentiment, but my life is complicated enough already. The thing is that I'm in love with two guys and-"

Toji exploded. "Don't tell me you still love Kairi after what he put you through!"

Momo set her jaw firmly. "He didn't put me through anything. I put myself through it because I was insecure. I doubted his love for me because he cared for someone else, but I should have realized that his heart was just big enough for both me and her, like my heart is big enough for both you and him. I don't know who invented these crazy rules about dating, but I'm done playing by them." _Whoa! Where did that come from?_

Patrick pulled his boat closer to Tam's and whispered, "It looks like you made and even bigger splash than I did."

Tam chuckled softly, but said nothing. She continued to observe the young lovebirds as they reevaluated their relationship.

"But Momo! Then you'd just confirm all the old rumors about you. People respect you now," the short-haired boy said.

"What good is respect if I'm not being true to myself? I'd be just like Sae, pretending to be a helpless doe all the time."

"Sae pitted people against one another, Momo. That's what you would be doing with Kairi and me. We would be constantly competing with each other for your love. Don't do that to us!"

"It's not like that. That's what you were doing, but not anymore. You both won my heart. It's clear that both of you love me, too. With what you said on the boat earlier about wanting to see me happy, I thought you would understand."

Toji turned away from her with tears in his eyes. Strangers were watching him from all angles. There was nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run, either. On one side of him was the river, and on the other was a group of passengers and bystanders who had gathered to watch the live drama.

"Ditch the bitch!" someone yelled.

"Forget that slut!" someone else called.

Murmurs about Momo's red dog collar short skirt, which now clung to her body more than ever due to the water, spread through the crowd.

Then, Patrick spoke in a voice loud enough to silence the hecklers. "Don't throw away a good thing, man! Momo's honesty with you means that she will love you and stick with you no matter what. Who cares if she loves someone else at the same time? That's the way it works for most people. I bet there's not a single person here who can honestly say they've never been attracted to someone besides their primary mate. Half of them will bottle up their feelings and pretend they don't exist. This will only serve to make them feel miserable and guilty. The other half will cheat, eventually making their loved ones feel bitter and betrayed. Is that the kind of life you want to lead?"

The bystanders looked down at the pebbles under their feet, worn smooth by hundreds of years of being tossed around in the river.

Patrick continued, "Pinning your own shame on her won't make things any better. Listen, Momo. If this guy ditches you - even if he doesn't, actually - I'd love to get to know you better. Of course that's all up to you, but I'm just saying."

"I'll take you, too!" another man shouted from the crowd.

"And me!" several more chorused.

Momo blushed heavily. "That's very kind of you all, but I already know who I love. I can't just start going out with a complete stranger. Toji, please! I'm asking you and Kairi, not all of them."

Toji glanced at all the people around him, and then at Momo. She seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. He put his arms around her and drew her close with her head to his chest. The crowd clapped and cheered.

"Let's go somewhere quiet to talk," he said softly to her, "I can't think like this."

Clinging together, the two of them eased their way through the crowd. Unfortunately, not every individual present showed them respect. The men slapped or pinched her posterior while the women hurled insults about her strawberry blond hair and told her that she would never get away with this if she did not dress like such a slut.

Momo whipped around and grabbed an arm that had grabbed her ass. She twisted it hard, bringing the sorry excuse for a man attached to it to his knees. Four more men started to close in on her.

Tam and Patrick docked their boats and were out of them in a flash. They dashed up the shore and wedged themselves between Momo and the men.

"You don't want to do this, boys," Tam said.

One of the men laughed. "What's an old bat like you got on us?"

"Don't underestimate her," Patrick warned.

Toji faced the men as well, pressing his back to Momo's. "We don't want any trouble, but I sear if you try to hurt Momo your own mothers won't recognize you tomorrow."

"Who said anything about hurting her? We just want to have a little fun with her," one of the pricks cooed.

Tam's amber eyes gleamed. "That's Momo's choice, not yours or even her boyfriend's. If you want sex, save your money and find a prostitute. However, I suggest that you approach her more respectfully. They still have the right to refuse service to-"

The man's hand shot out to strike Tam, but she blocked it deftly. After a few swift mixed martial arts maneuvers, he was lying flat on his back on the rocky river bank.

"Oh dear! What's that someone was saying about bats and oldness?"

Silence.

"Can we go now?" Toji wondered.

The men stepped aside and let them pass. Patrick and Tam walked with them, escorting them until they were out of sight of the river.

**Closing Note: **Please review! I have another chapter in the works, so stay tuned.


	2. Interventions

**Chapter 2 Interventions**

As they wandered through the streets of the quaint riverside town, clouds gathered overhead, threatening rain. People around them rushed to complete their business before the impending typhoon. However, Tam and her dashing young boyfriend maintained a carefree attitude through the course of their stroll. They had left the river far behind, and now they were wandering aimlessly through the town.

"Let's get something to eat. All that action made me hungry," Tam said.

"Aren't you worried someone will steal your boats?" Momo asked.

The aging blonde shrugged. "Eh, they're just things. Even if we don't get them back, I'm glad we ran into you."

Toji shivered from his wet clothes. "If we don't get inside soon, I'm going to catch cold."

"Not necessarily. If you stick with Momo, your chances are a lot better. Studies have shown that love increases the strength of the immune system," Tam explained.

"What are you, some sort of love guru?" Toji asked.

"Pretty much," Patrick confirmed with a smirk. In his first life as Sean Carson, he had apparently held that title. He had taught her much before he was shot, and now it was her turn to be the wise one. Despite the youth of his new cloned body, his spirit was the same and he loved her more than words could express. However, he could not tell anyone of his personal history other than those who already knew. Even his original mother was kept in the dark about the fact that one of his good friends carried him in her womb for nine months and another woman who didn't quite know what she was in for adopted him. Patrick himself had only found out when he turned sixteen and Tam showed up on his doorstep with roses in a little black dress and a huge grin.

The group wandered into a noodle shop and took a seat near the furnace. Toji snuggled close to Momo and Patrick did the same with Tam. They made quick decisions on their food and spent the rest of their waiting time shivering. The only person present who had not been drenched was Tam. She sat back in her seat, relaxed as Patrick pressed his soggy head into the side of her neck.

"So, who is this Kairi person you keep mentioning?" Tam questioned.

"He's another guy who goes to our school. He has always stood by me and been there for me, except for this one time he was helping someone else. He's kind-hearted and funny and-"

"-And what am I, chopped liver?" Toji asked.

"No! You're everything he's not! You are really smart, responsible, tall. Toji, you can read me better than he can. You know how to make me feel safe and comforted. That's really important, and what Kairi has to offer is important as well."

Their food arrived, and they all dug in. They ate and drank with gusto to nourish their active bodies and minds. As their blood sugar levels recharged, their thoughts became clearer.

"So Toji. Now that we know what Momo wants, what do _you_ want?" Tam asked.

"I just want Momo. I don't want any drama or trouble, just her," the dark-haired young man answered.

The older woman gazed at him with her penetrating golden eyes. "Don't you want her to be happy as well?"

"Of course! If I can't make her happy, then I still want her to be happy with someone else. It's just that I don't want it to be back and forth all the time. I want a stable relationship with committment. I want to have kids and grow old with someone."

"Excellent! Momo, do you want the same thing?"

The heavily tanned girl sighed and put her chopsticks aside. With her chin in her hand, she stared wistfully across the restaurant. "Yeah. I didn't give it much thought before, but I guess that's what we all want deep down."

Tam shook her head. "Not everyone wants the same thing. I know a monogamous couple who doesn't want kids and never had any. They are about my age now. I know some more people with kids who swap wives and date outside their marriages on occasion. They are some of the most stable people I know. I suppose everyone wants stability in some form or other, but they don't necessarily need a particular type of relationship to find it. One of my sweethearts is a highly spiritual man. I drop in on him every now and then, but he doesn't need or want a woman living with him permanently."

Momo blinked. "Sounds complicated."

"It doesn't have to be. The point is not to try to squeeze your own life into the molds other people have set for you. Instead, listen to your heart and do what works best for you. Consider all your options and decide what's most important to you. However, in our culture there are drawbacks to being openly polyamorous. You had a taste of them already."

"Poly-_what_?" Toji asked.

"There's another drawback right there," Tam said, "most people don't even know the word, so unless you pretend to be monogamous like everyone else, you'll spend half your life explaining yourself to people. Some will shun you openly while agreeing with you in secret. Some will pretend to understand, but don't. Many will label you as a slut or try to take advantage of you. Only a select few will truly accept you and stick by your side."

Toji looked exasperated. "OK, but is that what you are-what you call yourselves?"

Patrick and Tam both nodded as they slurped their noodles.

Toji addressed Patrick. "All right, I have another question for you, man-to-man. Do you ever get jealous when she's out with other guys?"

Patrick shrugged. "I did at first, I guess. I was sixteen and unsure of myself when I met Tam. The thing was that she was already with the other guys. They had known her for decades, and they assured me that she was serious about me. They also didn't see me as a threat to their relationships with her, so that put me at ease. She never _left_ them for anyone else, so why would she leave me? Unless of course I started acting like a jerk and pretending like I owned her. If I tried to keep her away from them, only then would she kick me to the curb."

Toji felt the lump in his stomach and worked to untangle it. All along he had been suspicious that Momo might be a slut. He had believed the rumors about her, but secretly kept loving her anyway. It was the dirty looks all the other girls at school gave her that had kept him away from her. Now, he felt like a coward for not standing up for her sooner. Even though some of the rumors might have been true, what did it ultimately matter?

"Momo," Toji said at last, "If Kairi takes you back, will you stay with me as well? What if he doesn't want to share?"

Momo took a deep breath. Her hazel eyes met his chocolate ones firmly. "I'll just make sure he knows that you are part of the deal. If he can't accept me with you as part of my life, he can't really accept me at all. The thing is that I think maybe he _will_ understand. He knows I've had feelings for you for a long time, yet he still wanted to be with me."

Toji sighed. "OK. Let's go talk to him and find out. But remember: I come first."

Momo blinked. "Both of you come first in my heart, but since you are the first one to really understand how I feel, I'm keeping you no matter what."

Moisture rimmed Toji's eyes, but it did not fall. This whole thing was new and strange to him, but he knew there had to be a way through it. He hugged his girlfriend close and whispered, "Thanks Momo."

Tamara scribed a phone number and e-mail address on a napkin. She handed it to Momo. "Good luck with your love life. If you need any more help or if you would like to borrow any of my boyfriends, don't hesitate to contact me."

"And you can borrow me any time," Patrick reminded her.

Momo thanked them and pocketed the napkin. Although starting a relationship with someone she barely knew did not appeal to her, it was comforting to know that there were men available to fill Kairi's place in her life just in case. She had to have someone who could make her laugh. Toji could make her smile and she felt as if her soul was warm and glowing when she was near him, but laughing was another matter. Kairi was very energetic, but being around him for too long left her feeling worn-out. She could take Toji in large doses and Kairi in small doses. That's why she needed both of them in her life. Momo suspected that every woman needed a man who could make her laugh, and many men couldn't make any woman laugh. Would it be so bad if she shared one of the few men who could make women laugh with another woman?

"Let's get to Shiranami before the weather gets any worse."

**Closing Note: **Please Review!


	3. Crash!

**Chapter 3 Crash!**

Kairi stared at the crashing waves clutching the cell phone pouch that Momo had made for him. He had been yelling at the ocean for countless hours. Sae came and went, checking on him frequently, but for the most part leaving him to himself to release his emotions.

"Why wasn't I good enough for you, Momo? Why?" Kairi cried in agony.

"I'll tell you why," came her voice from behind him.

Thinking that the voice came from his imagination, Kairi continued to gaze at the waves. "Why?" he repeated, this time more softly.

"Because one man will never be good enough for me. Kairi, you can't be my everything. It would be unfair of me to ask you to change."

Tears blurred Kairi's vision as he continued to yell at the ocean. "But you never gave me a chance to change. I'd do anything for you, Momo. Absolutely anything. I'm ready to be your everything, and I'll never let you down again."

The voice of his beloved reached his ears again. It sounded so real, but it spoke words he never dared to think Momo would utter. "Kairi, I love you just the way you are. The thing is that I love both you and Toji, and I want both of you in my life. I've felt that way for a long time, so when you two forced me to choose, I couldn't. I was afraid that if I stood my ground and chose both of you, I'd lose both of you and be branded as a slut for the rest of my life. I'm not afraid anymore."

Kairi's jaw dropped, and he looked behind him to see that Momo was actually standing there in the flesh. He wiped the tears out of his latte-colored eyes to get a clearer picture, and discovered that Toji was standing there with her. Toji held Momo's hand securely as she spoke.

"You can call me a slut if you like, but first I want you to hear me out. You mean a lot to me Kairi, and I'm sorry I threw that away. I'd like to take you back, but not at the price of losing Toji. I can't live without him."

Kairi threw himself at Momo's feet. "I can't live without you! I don't care if you're a slut, Momo! I love you!"

"That was easy," Toji commented.

Momo crouched down briefly to take Kairi's hands, and pulled him to his feet. She dusted the sand off his arms and brushed his loose brown hair out of his eyes. "You realize you have to share me with Toji, right?"

Kairi sniffled. "Yeah. In a way, that's what I was doing all along. I knew he was never far from your mind. That's why I didn't try to compete with him or be like him. I wanted you to like me for me, and I guess it worked. Since you are with him now and you still want me, I'd say that's a sign of true love."

Momo threw her arms around the shorter of her two boyfriends. "Oh Kairi! If I knew you felt this way, I would have never broken up with you."

Toji hugged Momo from behind, resting his chin atop her chlorine-bleached hair. "But if you never broke up with him, you would have never gotten together with me."

"True," Momo said, relishing the warmth of both their bodies. "I'm glad things worked out the way they did. Looking back now, I see that everything we went through was a learning process. I wish I figured it all out sooner, but at least I figured it out in time."

"Figured out what in time?" came a pesky, annoying voice.

The three of them looked down to see a girl with pale skin and short black hair. "Sae!"

She turned her big, innocent doe eyes on them. "What did I do? I just wanted to know what my best friends are up to."

Momo sighed and let of her men. They took their places on either side of her and prepared for the worst. After all, this was the girl who had caused them so much trouble over the past year.

"You always know how to ruin a perfect moment, don't you?" Momo accused.

"Perfect moment? What the…" Sae looked from Momo to Toji to Kairi, and then back to Momo. The expressions on their faces were slightly annoyed and worried, but deeper down there was a sense of peace and contentment that could not be displaced by the situation. "Oh my God! I knew it!"

"It's not what you think," Toji started to say.

"Why not?" Kairi asked. "We can't live our lives in the shadows."

"You forget how fast Sae spreads rumors," Toji growled.

"What's the point in hiding from a rumor if it's true?" Kairi countered.

"Relax, boys! Your secret is safe with me-as long as I get something in return." Sae winked.

"What do you want?" Momo asked.

"I want to borrow your boyfriends whenever you are not using them."

Momo groaned. After all the pain and torment Sae had put her through, she didn't want much to do with the girl. Then again, Sae's antics had brought Momo closer to the men she loved. Sae had also changed and matured a lot since the beginning of the year. Maybe things could be different. Momo opened her mouth to speak.

Sae beat her to it. "Just kidding! You know, I really need my very own man. Have fun, though!" She turned on her heel and skipped away, kicking up sand as she went.

"Do you think she'll really keep quiet?" Toji wondered.

"Does it matter? Who would believe her anyway after all the false rumors she's spread?" Kairi asked.

"I don't know, but I'm tired. It's been a long day-a good day, but still a long one."

"I'd really like to spend some more time with you before we have to go back. Actually, I set some money aside for a hotel," Toji said tentatively.

Momo gave a single nod. "OK, but only as long as Kairi gets to come, too."

Kairi's sweet latte eyes widened. "Really Momo? This is heavy stuff."

Toji sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand while his other arm linked with Momo's. "Yeah, it's not exactly what I had in mind either, but I'm glad it's you and not that weird guy we ran into on the river."

"What weird guy? Tell me more!" Kairi said.

Momo laughed and linked arms with Kairi as they walked up the beach. She and Toji told Kairi all about their encounter with the former prime minister's bodyguard and her young boyfriend as well as how they had to deal with a dozen rabid men from the street. While not the most thrilling or remarkable of adventures, the experience had taught them several valuable life lessons.

**Closing Note:** This is the end of this fic, but not the end of the story. The next chapter is rated M and can be found in a separate fic called Peacherotica.


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